kjp

Got up at the crack of dawn, and slept most of the way down to the Gold Coast. We went to South Stradbroke Island: parking at The Spit and swimming across the Gold Coast Seaway (it's about 250 metres across, with a breakwall on either side). You don't need to worry about the distance, the current, the water, any sharks, the big rocks you scramble over to get down and up to the water. But the boats and jetskis that hoon by make things a bit dodgy for people in the water.

We walked north a bit up the southern tip of South Stradbroke Island - to a free spot on the beach. There is a sand outlet that spurts out sand / sludge that has been taken from the bay on the western side of the island. Apparently this helps in the creation of a decent break. I wasn't out for all of that long (compared to the other two) - I too cold. But I did catch a few good waves. I did something to my left calf muscle (twisted ?), and it is still sore. Great. But, it's a lot more fun than just catching the waves when just swimming - lots more speed. On the way home we stopped by the Yatala pie place - very very yummy, especially after a good dose of exercise. It's just off the highway to Brisbane near the northern exit to Yatala.

There's a few things for me to sort out / get if I want to do more bodyboarding:

• a wetsuit / springsuit and possibly a pair of speedos - it was a bit too cold in just boardshorts and a rashy
• if I want to go over the rocks again, I should get some contact lenses. These would be good at the beach anyway. There's lots of nice views... especially in summer. But, there are potential issues with wearing them in the water
• learn how to use my flippers properly & efficiently. Avoid thrashing around; be smooth, etc.
• swim more - which means more trips to the 25 m pool down the road
• get stronger: I'm a bit of a weakling at the moment, especially in my arms, but also in my legs. While I may be able to jog well, the resistance in this is pretty small, so I need to do weights? Maybe I'll start riding my bike again and get chunky legs :)
• the above two points will probably help in getting up speed quickly. And that will help with learning how to duck dive properly
• wax on the board - slipping off is annoying
• wear more sunburn cream. sigh.
• learn some nifty tricks...